Thriving Gluten-Free

Whether you’re newly diagnosed with Celiac disease or have been living gluten-free for years, we at Rudi’s Gluten-Free Bakery want to help you discover how to truly thrive living gluten-free. Our expertise is in baking and we’re not going to pretend we’re doctors, but we want to pass along some outside resources to help in the understanding of Celiac disease and gluten intolerance.

About Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease (CD) is a lifelong inherited autoimmune condition affecting children and adults. When people with CD eat foods that contain gluten, it creates an immune-mediated toxic reaction that causes damage to the small intestine and does not allow food to be properly absorbed. Even small amounts of gluten in foods can affect those with CD and cause health problems. Damage can occur to the small bowel even when there are no symptoms present.

Gluten is the common name for the proteins in specific grains that are harmful to persons with celiac disease. These proteins are found in ALL forms of wheat (including durum, semolina, spelt, kamut, einkorn and faro) and related grains rye, barley and triticale and MUST be eliminated.

Blood tests are the first step in a diagnosis of celiac disease. A doctor will order one or more of a series of blood tests to measure your body’s response to gluten. Currently, recommended tests include:

Total IgA

IgA-tTG

IgA-EMA

* If IgA is deficient, it is recommended that the IgG/IgA-DGP also be ordered. At the discretion of the doctor, IgG-AGA can also be ordered.

**It is important to continue eating a normal, gluten-containing diet before being tested for celiac. If the blood tests and symptoms indicate celiac, a physician may suggest a biopsy of the lining of the small intestine to confirm the diagnosis.

Despite these restrictions, people with celiac disease can eat a well-balanced diet with a variety of foods, including bread and pasta. For example, instead of wheat flour, people can use potato, rice, soy, or bean flour. Or, they can buy gluten-free bread, pasta, and other products from specialty food companies. In addition, plain meat, fish, fruits and vegetables do not contain gluten, so celiacs can eat as much of these foods as they like.

Following a gluten-free diet may seem daunting at first, but, with a little creativity, anyone can make delicious gluten-free meals! More about the Gluten-Free Diet

Brown Rice Flo

Guar Gum

Potato Starch

Buckwheat

Quinoa

Amaranth

Almond Flour

Teff

Corn Flour

Tapioca Starc

Soy Flour

Xanthum Gum

Corn Starch

Potato Flour

Sweet Rice Flour

Lentil

Navigating The School System

GOING TO SCHOOL:

Most children with special dietary needs tend to bring their own snacks and lunch to school to ensure that the food they eat is safe. This is a good thing! As a parent, you can teach your child how to pack a nutritious and delicious gluten-free lunch. This empowers your child how to manage his or her own diet. For many reasons, such as financial need or social inclusion, it might be more appropriate for your child to receive a school lunch – at least sometimes.

ACCOMMODATION:

Many school districts and individual schools’ food service programs voluntarily accommodate children on special diets. Others must implement specific protocols to reach the same level of accommodation. Parent’s often find out which option they must pursue early in the exploratory process.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR RIGHTS:

As a parent, it is very important to understand what the federal government requires participating school districts to do to accommodate children with food allergies and intolerances. Decisions are based on individual circumstances: there is no blanket statement that can be made for all children with celiac disease. An accommodation is neither an entitlement nor a requirement. If schools do make accommodations the gluten-free substitution does not need to be identical to that of the non-gluten-free option.